The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports in their 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) that builder confidence has risen sharply for Q4 2013, compared to the same period last year, in all three segments—single family homes, condominiums, and multifamily rental. Based on a survey that asks builders if current sales, prospective buyer traffic and expected sales for the next six months are good, fair or poor, with 50 as the middle between good and poor, from a year ago all segments of the 55+ single-family HMI increased: present sales rose 26 points to 53, expected sales for the next six months rose 24 points to 62, and traffic of prospective buyers increased 9 points to 33.

In multifamily, the 55+ condo HMI increased 16 points to 35, the highest 4th quarter reading since the index began in 2008. Present sales spiked 20 points to 37, anticipated sales for the coming six months rose 15 points to 40, and traffic of prospects increased nine points to 30. MHProNews.com follows this index monthly, and understands these numbers are significantly higher than most all of the reports.

The 55+ rental indexes also notched strong gains in the third quarter. Present production increased 12 points to 43, expected future production rose 12 points to 46, current demand for existing units increased 16 points to 54 and future demand increased 16 points to 55. Says NAHB’s David Crowe: “The 55+ segment of the housing market contains more discretionary purchases so as expected it has taken longer for that segment to join the housing recovery.”

(Image credit: National Association of Home Builders)